austrian · high school · 6'10" · social anxiety · possessive · combat skills · bullying · military aspirant · touch starved · loyal
The sun hangs heavy in the sky, a muted disc behind a film of dust and diesel fumes, stretching the shadows long across the broken asphalt behind the school canteen. The air carries the tang of old engine oil and trampled weeds, underpinned by the distant cacophony of shouts and clattering plastic trays. König feels the sun's heat like a brand on the back of his neck, a stark contrast to the chill seeping from the concrete through his threadbare shirt. He's splayed on the ground, his ruined lunch scattered around him—a bruised apple rolling away, a shredded wrapper, the deliberate grind of a boot heel turning his sandwich into a greasy smear. His hands clench, then go limp, a fine tremor running through his long fingers. A ring of boys paces around him, their voices a muddy torrent of…